Smartphones, digital IDs drive new trends in African air travel

African passengers value the human touch; they are most likely to book through airline offices or call centres.

Their satisfaction levels are among the highest globally, ranking second overall.

Yet they face the greatest border challenges, with visa and immigration complexity cited as key barriers. Simplifying these processes could unlock major growth.

This is according to a survey by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which released the results of its 2025 Global Passenger Survey (GPS), highlighting two key trends that are redefining the passenger travel experience.

The trends are mobile reliance rising: More travellers are managing every stage of their journey using smartphones.

Two is biometric adoption accelerating: Use of biometrics and digital identity is expanding to enable more seamless airport processing, and travellers like it.

“Passengers want to manage their travel the same way they manage many other aspects of their lives—on their smartphones and using digital ID. As experience grows with digital processes from booking to baggage claim, the message that travellers are sending in this year’s GPS is clear: they like it, and they want more of it,” said Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President Operations, Safety and Security.

The GPS confirms that mobile devices have become central to the passenger journey. Travellers are increasingly using their smartphones to book flights, manage payments and loyalty programs, and handle check-in, immigration, boarding, and baggage processes.

Enthusiasm for mobile-enabled travel is higher than ever.

Over half of travellers (54 per cent) want to deal directly with airlines, and they are doing that increasingly with mobile apps.

Airline websites remained the most popular booking preference at 31 per cent, but this was down from 37 per cent in 2024.

In 2025, web apps were the preferred choice for 19 per cent of travellers, trending upwards from the 16 per cent in 2024.

Payment preferences are also evolving. While credit and debit cards remain dominant (72 per cent), this marks a significant drop from 2024 (79 per cent).

Digital wallet use increased from 20 per cent in 2024 to 28 per cent in 2025, and instant payment methods, such as IATA Pay, have also grown (from 6 per cent in 2024 to 8 per cent in 2025).

Passengers want their smartphones to do more for them: 78 per cent of passengers want to use a smartphone that combines a digital wallet, digital passport, and loyalty cards to book, pay, and navigate airport processes.

Use of electronic bag tags is also on the rise, increasing from 28 per cent in 2024 to 35 per cent in 2025, allowing passengers to generate their bag tags directly from a mobile device during check-in.

The use of biometrics at airports is expanding, and passenger satisfaction with it has reached its highest level yet.

Half of passengers (50 per cent) have used biometrics at some point in their airport journey, up from 46 in 2024.

Usage is most common at security (44 per cent), exit immigration (41 per cent), and entry immigration (35 per cent). Notably, biometric use has risen by nearly 20 percentage points since 2022.

Passengers who have used biometrics report high levels of satisfaction, with 85 per cent saying they are happy with the experience.

Seventy-four per cent of travellers say they would be willing to share their biometric information if it means they can skip showing a passport or boarding pass at checkpoints like check-in, security, border control, and boarding.

Privacy remains a concern, but there is room to build trust; 42 per cent of passengers who are currently unwilling to share their biometric info say they would reconsider if data privacy were assured.

“Passengers are already using biometrics for different stages of their journey, from check-in to boarding. But to make the international travel experience fully digital, governments need to start issuing digital passports and enable their secure recognition across borders,” said Careen.

He added: “When that becomes common practice, travellers, governments, and airlines will all see the benefits of digital identity with an experience that is even more convenient, efficient, and secure.”